“Kiss a Pig” with Kevin Gillespie’s “Pure Pork Awesomeness”

“He was my buddy. He was my friend. He was my breakfast every now and then …” Those lyrics to Stevens jaunty country sendup succinctly sum up Gillespie’s feelings about pigs. “I love them as animals and I love them as meat,” he writes.

But Gillespie, the working-class child of rural Georgia who grew up to become a famous Atlanta chef, is acutely aware that some people find loving and eating animals a serious contradiction.

“For me, it’s not at odds,” Gillespie said. “I think it’s an intelligent, interesting, creative, unique animal. Then I love it as a source of food and nourishment. The book was meant to celebrate the cookery. But I felt like it needed to start with little bit more of an explanation of why pigs are so endearing.”

Gillespie was acclaimed as the chef at Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill, and a fan favorite on “Top Chef,” before opening his imaginative, cart-to-table Glenwood Park restaurant, Gunshow, in 2013. He’s been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards, including for his first cookbook, “Fire in My Belly” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $40).

But he also operates a barbecue catering business, Terminus City. And he’s set to open a Southern meat-and-three-style restaurant, Revival, in Decatur later this year. Writing a user-friendly book about pork had been in the back of his mind for years.

“When I was on the tour for ‘Fire in My Belly,’ ” I simply asked people who were coming out and meeting me at events what they’d like me to write about next,” Gillespie said. “The resounding answer was, write a book about pork. So that’s what I came home and did. It just took me a couple of years to figure out what the voice of the book was going to be.

“I went back and looked at all the other books I had on the subject. Most of them took the angle of trying to be very authoritative and almost encyclopedic about the way they addressed the cookery of pork. The thing I love about pork is the passion and the excitement. It’s the fact that I eat it, and I slap the table, and say, ‘Damn that’s good.’ ”

The recipes in “Pure Pork Awesomeness” span the globe for inspiration, which Gillespie said not only reflects his own taste buds, but the worldwide love of pork in all its forms.

“If I’m out eating German food, or Asian food, or Mexican food, or American food, I tend to find the pork dish and order that,” he said. “But the whole world is enchanted by this protein.”

Korean Barbecued Pork Bulgogi is among the dishes from the book that Gillespie has been showing off at cooking demonstrations and other events, lately. “It is super, super easy and it demystifies a cuisine that people sometimes just can’t wrap their heads around,” he said.

Another is a recipe for his fun and decadent Buffalo-style pork “wings” made from braised pork belly. “That one is just a crowd favorite,” Gillespie said. “And I’m saying that because I’ve gotten my butt kicked serving it. It’s so popular, people are like, ‘Wings with pork belly? I’ve got to have that now.’”

Recipes

As the title promises, these recipes with introductions from “Pure Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes from Around the World” by Kevin Gillespie feature the Atlanta chef’s favorite ingredient in creative dishes designed with home cooks in mind.

Korean Barbecued Pork Bulgogi

If you’ve never eaten at a Korean barbecue restaurant, you gotta go. It’s fun. You grill your own strips of marinated meat, then add whatever spicy, sharp, and crunchy accompaniments you like. The requisite spread usually includes kimchi, pickles, chiles, and lettuce leaves to wrap it all up. Beef is most common but there are pork versions too, which I like better. To simplify the dish, I pan-sear thin slices of pork shoulder and turn the accompaniments into a sort of slaw that you wrap up in the lettuce. You could brush a little hoisin in there before you roll it up, or squirt on some sriracha. Use whatever condiments you have or none.

Note: Look for thinly sliced pork shoulder at Korean markets. Or just ask your butcher to thinly slice some boneless pork shoulder for you. Call ahead, because they usually freeze the meat for a little while to make it easier to slice paper-thin. You could also do the same thing at home.

1 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon Korean red chili powder (or Espelette pepper)

1 teaspoon mashed garlic

12 ounces paper-thin sliced boneless pork shoulder

¼ cup Duke’s mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated, about 2 teaspoons

2 limes

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon sambal oelek chili paste (found in Asian sections at grocery stores), or more as desired

1 carrot

¼ small head cabbage, finely shredded, about 2 cups

4 scallions, root end trimmed, thinly sliced on the bias

8 butter or Bibb lettuce leaves, for serving

In a gallon-size zip-top bag, combine the soy, sugar, sesame oil, chili powder, and garlic and smush to combine. Add the meat and smush around so all pieces are well coated. Squeeze out the air, zip the top shut, and marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature. The meat is so thin and the marinade so strong that a quick marinade is all this needs.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, chili sauce, ginger, 1 tablespoon lime juice, the salt, and the sambal oelek. Taste and add more sambal oelek if you like it spicy.

Grate the carrot on the largest hole of the box grater; you’ll get about 1 cup. Squeeze dry in a paper towel, then toss the carrot, cabbage, and half the scallions with the dressing to combine.

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard the marinade. Working in batches, grill the meat in a single layer for 30 seconds, then flip and grill for another 30 seconds; it will shrink and get some good color and grill marks. The meat is so thin that it should cook through in this short amount of time. Transfer the meat to a plate and stack. Slice the meat crosswise into 1-inch slices.

Layer the meat and slaw on the lettuce leaves and garnish with the remaining scallions.

Serves: 4

Per serving: 468 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), 22 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 26 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 52 milligrams cholesterol, 2,662 milligrams sodium.

Buffalo Pork “Wings”

In 2013, I was commissioned to serve a dish at the Georgia Dome during a Falcons game. While other chefs brought froufrou food to the football stadium, I brought something absurd: the pork wing. Chicken wings are my favorite junk food, and I figured they’d be even better with pork, especially during a football game. Here we have braised pork belly cut into chunks the size of hot wings, fried, and slathered in wing sauce. They’re ludicrous and delicious at the same time. The fans seemed to like them. As I understand it, I hold the record for highest sales among guest chefs at the Georgia Dome. I’m also the only guest chef who worked his own station.

Canola oil for frying

2-pound slab Braised Pork Belly (recipe follows)

5 ounces Frank’s RedHot sauce

2 tablespoons butter, cubed

Blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375°F.

Trim the top layer of fat off the pork belly down to the first layer of meat.

Cut lengthwise (the way you would slice bacon) into 1-inch-thick slices.

Crosswise, cut the rest of the pork belly to make pieces about 4 inches long and 1 inch thick.

In a saucepan, heat the hot sauce over medium heat just until bubbling around the edges. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter cubes one at a time until all are melted.

Fry the pork until crispy, about 5 minutes. Shake the fryer basket to remove excess oil. Drop the pork into the buttery hot sauce and toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Serves: 12

Per serving: 489 calories (percent of calories from fat, 94), 7 grams protein, trace carbohydrates, trace fiber, 51 grams fat (16 grams saturated), 59 milligrams cholesterol, 356 milligrams sodium.

Braised Pork Belly

1 (2-pound) center-cut slab raw pork belly

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat the oven to 300°F.

Rub both sides of the pork belly with the salt and lay flat, fat side up, in a baking dish that is just a little larger than the slab. Add the vinegar; it should come about halfway up the side of the meat. Wrap tightly with aluminum foil and braise in the oven for 3 hours.

Remove from the oven and let rest, wrapped in the foil, until the pork cools to room temperature. Remove from the pan, wrap in parchment and then foil, and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

The braised pork belly can be frozen for up 2 weeks. Thaw completely before using. This braising technique makes a great starting point for many dishes.

Makes: About 2 pounds

Per serving: 393 calories (percent of calories from fat, 92), 7 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, no fiber, 40 grams fat (15 grams saturated), 54 milligrams cholesterol, 964 milligrams sodium.

Spicy Sausage and Kale Soup

This is my mom’s all-time favorite thing that I make. If she’s sick, I get a call to make this soup. If she has a few days off at home, I get a call to make the soup. For family functions, I get the call. She first had something like it at the Olive Garden when I was a teenager. She came home and said, “Kevin, you need to figure out how to make this!” She drove me to the Olive Garden — 40 minutes away — specifically so I could taste this soup. It’s basically potato soup with sausage and greens in it. I’ve been making some version of it now since I was 15 years old. I like the soup kind of brothy. The potato just thickens it up a little bit. I also like black lacinato kale, but you could use other greens if you like.

1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes, or 1 pound of your favorite spicy Italian pork sausage, casing removed

2½ cups ¼-inch-diced Vidalia onion

8 cloves garlic, thickly sliced, about ¼ cup

1 tablespoon Espelette pepper or hot paprika

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + more for garnish

3 Yukon gold potatoes, halved and then sliced into ¼-inch slices, about 3 cups

2 quarts Chicken Stock

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 cups packed sliced kale leaves, preferably black lacinato kale, tough ribs removed

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Refrigerate the pork until well chilled; the fat should be solid and firm.

For the pork shoulder: Chill your meat grinder and the large die. Toss 1¼ cups of the onion, 2 tablespoons of the garlic, the Espelette pepper, fennel seeds, salt, and red pepper flakes with the pork and mix well. Chill until ready to grind. Assemble the meat grinder and grind the pork shoulder into a large bowl.

For the soup: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the ground pork, if using, or pork sausage, stirring gently until it just starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1¼ cups onion and 2 tablespoons garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Your sausage should be crumbly. Add the potatoes and toss to coat with oil. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover, and decrease the heat to low. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through and are just starting to break apart, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid, add the cheese and kale, and cook until the kale is completely wilted, about 10 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the vinegar. Garnish each bowl with additional Parmesan cheese and a heavy drizzle of olive oil. The oil and other garnishes take the soup from ho-hum to over the top.

Makes: 3 quarts

Per 1-cup serving: 197 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 13 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 26 milligrams cholesterol, 1,901 milligrams sod

Recipes from “Pure Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes from Around the World” by Kevin Gillespie with David Joachim (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $29.99)